It Runs in the Family
by procol harum
Summary: It was his first actual hospital trip – as in, he'd been there countless times before because of Jimmy or Tommy and Seanie's birth, but never because of himself. He had seemed a little proud of that fact.


_**prompt:**__ broken_**  
title: **it runs in the family  
**characters: **jimmy, tommy, kevin, sean  
**rating: **G  
**warning: ****no**  
**disclaimer:** i own nothing  
**summary:** It was his first actual hospital trip – as in, he'd been there countless times before because of Jimmy or Tommy and Seanie's birth, but never because of himself. He had seemed a little proud of that fact.

Kevin's first broken bone came when he was eight. Tommy and Jimmy had thought it would happen sooner and weren't even all that surprised when it happened. Kevin had taken it quite well after the initial incident, and you would of thought he'd actually won a game of Go Fish for once the way he was bragging about it.

Kevin had been trying to climb the tree in Ms. Heady's yard, wanting to get to the top and prove to Jimmy and Tommy that he was as big as they were. Ms. Heady had gotten home earlier than had been expected. Tommy and Jimmy hadn't even noticed her until she'd come up behind them and screamed at Kevin to get down – "Get out of my tree you little brat!" were her exact words, and Kevin liked to pretend that she was too stunned by his presence that her concern for his well-being had turned to anger before she even thought about what she was saying. Her yell had startled both of the older Donnellys, but not as much as she startled the younger up in the tree. Kevin had been so terrified at being caught that he'd screamed – Jimmy said he'd sounded like a little baby pig because he'd squealed but not very loudly – and let go of the branch he'd been using to pull himself upwards. Jimmy had been too stunned at Kevin suddenly falling to really do anything but Tommy had gone quickly into action, diving just under where Kevin would land. The smaller boy crashed into Tommy, and they both went down. It was grass, but Kevin still somehow broke his arm. He screamed louder, and didn't stop until Jimmy threatened to smack him if he didn't shut up. Ms. Heady had run into the house to call their parents after yelling at Kevin to get down – she knew they were the Donnelly boys and she knew that they were bad boys and now they were trespassing and one of them was climbing her tree like a wild monkey.

Tommy stood to stand beside Jimmy and they stared down at Kevin as he slowly calmed. He'd stopped crying but still let out small hiccups and moans of pain. He looked up at his older brothers, seeming confused at first, and then he smirked. "Did you see how high I got? I woulda made it all the way up if Ms. Heady never showed up."

Jimmy began to laugh. Tommy did, too, but he was more concerned about the way Kevin held his am to his chest awkwardly. Probably broken, he figured, and that didn't really even surprise him. He had broken his arm when he had been six, running up the stairs of their apartment as a couple of older boys – Jimmy had apparently stolen twenty dollars from one of them, and going after his younger brother seemed like fair payback to them – chased him. He'd stumbled, gone backwards, just as he reached his floor.

He had screamed the same as Kevin had done just moments before. The two boys seemed ready to pummel him into the ground when Jimmy came racing down the hallway, their father close behind. Jimmy had yelled curses at the guys as they ran away. Dad had carried him out to the car and taken him straight to the hospital. He saw the two again after he got out of the hospital, white cast covered in Kevin's tiny doodles. They looked similar, with matching black eyes and split lips. Tommy never questioned them or Jimmy about it but he already knew that they would never pick on him again.

--

Sean sat in the hospital chair, legs swinging back and forth but not touching the floor. Jimmy and Tommy sat on either side, but they were less animated. Jimmy was staring off at nothing – something he seemed to be getting quite good at, Tommy mused – while Tommy read one of the magazines provided in the waiting room. Apparently salt could be used for more things than he thought.

Mum and Dad were in with Kevin. It was his first actual hospital trip – as in, he'd been there countless times before because of Jimmy or Tommy and Seanie's birth, but never because of himself. He had seemed a little proud of that fact. There was paperwork to be filled out, though, which was being done while Kevin's arm was checked over and casted. A new Donnelly to be added into their system – and there were no doubts that he'd be back there again soon, and often, because he was a Donnelly, after all – the unluckiest, too, it seemed – and they were well known for getting into trouble.


End file.
